ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- With a military tribunal possibly looming for al-Qaida defendant Zacarias Moussaoui, the government served notice Tuesday that it will ask an appeals court to salvage a civilian prosecution that was nearly gutted by a trial judge.

Prosecutors notified the trial judge in Moussaoui's case that they will appeal to the 4th Circuit, based in Richmond.

The key issue is the government's refusal to make three al-Qaida prisoners available to Moussaoui. The government defied two district court orders that gave Moussaoui the right to question the captives because they might help his defense.

To sanction the government for its defiance, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Thursday barred the government from seeking the death penalty or presenting any evidence that could possibly link Moussaoui to the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide hijackings.

If the government cannot restore its full prosecution case, it would be more likely the Bush administration would move the case to a military tribunal, where rules might be more favorable to prosecutors.

Coke paying $540,000 to settle whistleblower suit

ATLANTA -- The Coca-Cola Co. has agreed to pay $540,000 to a former finance manager to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that led to a criminal investigation of fraud allegations at the world's largest beverage maker.

Matthew Whitley sued for wrongful termination in state and federal court in May. The suit accused Coke of rigging a marketing test three years ago to inflate the popularity of Frozen Coke at Burger King restaurants in Virginia.

In a joint statement Tuesday, Coke and Whitley said they had settled their disputes.

Whitley has agreed to dismiss his complaints against the company and each of the individuals named. The company has agreed to pay him $100,000, the severance benefits he was to receive from being laid off, about $140,000, and $300,000 for legal fees.

Whitley and Coke said both would continue to cooperate in the federal investigations of the company. Whitley sued after Atlanta-based Coke refused his demand for $44.4 million.

Doctors call it a miracle Horn survived tiger attack

LAS VEGAS -- It is "all but miraculous" that entertainer Roy Horn is alive and able to communicate after being bitten in the neck by a 600-pound tiger, his doctor said Tuesday.

Horn, of the "Siegfried & Roy" show that has thrilled Las Vegas tourists for years, was able to move his feet and hands and is responding to treatment, Dr. Derek Duke said at a news conference at University Medical Center where Horn was hospitalized after Friday's attack.

Horn, 59, remained in critical condition with a severe neck injury. He lost a large amount of blood in the attack, doctors said, and later had a stroke.

Duke disputed reports that Horn was in a drug-induced coma, and said it will be some time before the extent of Horn's recovery will be known.

"A contributing factor to his current condition is his extraordinary will and strong physical attributes," Duke said, reading from a statement. "These are significant elements in his ability to recover."

Russian, two from U.S. win Nobel in physics

Two American citizens and a Russian won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for helping explain some of the strange things that can happen when matter is chilled to extremely low temperatures.

Some of that odd behavior is already employed in MRI body scanners and could someday be harnessed to create high-speed levitating trains.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited Alexei A. Abrikosov, 75, and Vitaly L. Ginzburg, 87, for their theories about superconductivity, the ability of some materials to conduct electricity without resistance.

And Anthony J. Leggett, 65, was honored for explaining one kind of superfluidity, a peculiar behavior shown by extremely cold liquid helium.

Abrikosov and Ginzburg will split $1.3 million in prize money. atoms.

-- From wire reports